Friday, March 24, 2017

Q & A with Willem Veldhuizen

Willem Veldhuizen 59 years old from Loosdrecht in the Netherlands.
Willem is the owner and driver of the 3.5t Modified Tractor called
,,Double D´´. He´s also building and develop Pulling parts (Veldhuizen
Special Products) for other Teams in Europe.

pullingworld.com: What are you doing in your normal life?Willem Veldhuizen:
In my normal life, I am busy with Veldhuizen Special Products. Building
and selling highperformance engine parts in our www.specialproduct.nl
shop and i own a Bosch Car Service Garage in Loosdrecht, where we fix
1500 Cars and sell about 150 Cars a year. My son Daan runs the shop.

pullingworld.com: What do
you like to do in your free time, except Tractor Pulling?Willem Veldhuizen: Developing
Parts for our Tractor former Double D, now named VSP Bits’n Pieces, go
out with the boat in the summer with friends on the lake in Loosdrecht. Keeping
our property in shape, go out with the boat, taking care of the
animals, my wife Kathinka set up a little farm that takes time.

pullingworld.com:What do
you like on Tractor Pulling?Willem Veldhuizen: Building
better parts than others, figuring out why things work and some don’t,
go out over Europe and meet Pullers and Pulling fans, we really enjoyed
the Super Stock time when we ran Euro Cup Series, for years.

pullingworld.com:When and
where do you have driven a Pulling Tractor for the first time?Willem Veldhuizen: 1981 Lenelerveld (NL), I think long time ago.

pullingworld.com:What was
your biggest success?Willem Veldhuizen: Winning
Euro Cup Series for too many times with the Super Stock and my last
pull in Luxemburg on the Super Stock 2008. That is where we showed what
we can do at that time and still now that tractor is capable of running
top 3 in Europe.! pullingworld.com:Which
Pulling classes do you like too?Willem Veldhuizen: I really like the Light Super Stock class, stock engine and one turbocharger can become very popular.

pullingworld.com: What was
your biggest disappointment?Willem Veldhuizen: Biggest disappointing action was the EC 2009 in Bakel (NL), where the engine blew up in the Pull Off.

pullingworld.com:Which
things must be change in the future of the Tractor Pulling sport?Willem Veldhuizen: I
would say: Get the Pulling done in one attempt, because engines getting
to expensive to make a fun Pull for a light sled setting and learn
nothing and than Pull and separate the man from the boys. And ad weight
to the Pullers from place 3 on, for example Nr.3= 25kg, Nr.4= 50kg
Nr.5= 75 kg, so all the distances get closer together and it gets more
exciting for the crowd and keep the variety of Tractors, because that is
what the fans want.Change for the Euro Cup the 4.2t Mod into a 3.8t
Mod class (8000lbs.), so pullers out of the countries can compete and
not a hand full foreigners show up an do their thing. That is boring.

pullingworld.com:What's
your plans for the future in Tractor
Pulling?Willem Veldhuizen: Keep
on Pulling as long as i like it and make the Mod we run a competitive
Tractor. And start up who knows what in the coming years.

pullingworld.com:What was for
you the most important moment in the sport?Willem Veldhuizen: Most
important moment was when i pulled the first time with the Component
Super Stock in 2003 in the Mod class because of some…. Rule for that
year and ended in the middle of the class. Some pullers were not amused
! Pulling in Bernay (F) under bad track circumstances, starting clear from the left and crossing the track and win the pull. 1988
become Eurpean Champion in Amboise (F) and competing in Indianapolis,
USA at the Indy Super Pull that was amazing now i finaly realize what a
thing that was in one word great .next one is running the Double D
this year, man that thing has some power a Super Stock is slow motion in
comparising with the Mod. Actually most Pulls have their important
moments.

pullingworld.com:What
was your favourite Pulling Tractor project in the workshop during a winter? Willem Veldhuizen: For this year, building a new chassis for our twin engine Modified.

pullingworld.com: Something
you want to say? Willem Veldhuizen: Something
i have to say is: Look at Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League how TV can be
made and things are done and get the big numbers of spectators
interested in our sport so bigger sponsors can become interested and
get money for their investement and on the end the pullers are better
of.